How do you feel about Casey/April being depicted younger and younger?

[CyberCubed]

In the Mirage comics both April and Casey debuted as adults and this continued into the original cartoon and movies. April was 28 years old in the original cartoon and Casey was probably in his 30's.

The 4kids series was the first to give us a somewhat younger April/Casey. April was only 23 years old in 4kids and was the youngest April of that time. Casey Jones was probably around the same age.

Then IDW went further and made April/Casey into College kids. April lived in a College dorm and Casey still with his Dad. And now the Nick cartoon has them both as teenagers.

How do you feel about April/Casey getting younger?

[Klunk1234]

A pair of grown adults don't hung out with minors. Now, by being closer in age like the boys it doesn't seem bad.

[Powder]

I'm fine with it. There's never been all that much to her, so there's plenty of room to play around & see what works best. Nick's April has become my favorite, & I'm sure that's due in part to her age allowing for her to be a bit more spunky & fun. But of course whether or not she's suited to be a teen, adult, or in between, will depend on the version & how the turtles & their environment are. A young April would not work in Mirage, & an older one would be odd in the new series, I think.

[Leo656]

Wasn't April 26 or 27 in the OT? I swear I remember her once saying she was 26, but then, it's been a long time.

I don't have a problem with them being more in their early-20s, because it gives the characters room to "grow" along with the Turtles over a period of in-story years, without getting "too old" (the dreaded "Age 30" that comic book/comics characters are no longer allowed to approach without becoming "unrelatable" to the viewers/readers ).

That's pretty much all it's about; people who create cartoons and comics feel that anyone older than 25 is someone that the "target audience" of kids/teens can't relate to or appreciate. It's no surprise that in the Nick show, the most "kiddy" of all the TMNT cartoons so far, April and Casey are portrayed as teenagers. Anyone more than "a handful" of years older than the target audience "can't" be a main character. It's nonsense logic, but it's where they're coming from.

I personally feel early-mid 20s is just fine; I'm not at all a fan of them being teenagers. It makes it feel like there's too many "kids" running around, and it takes the focus off of the Turtles. The good news is, they probably won't be able to "de-age" them any further than they already have. And I don't really think the Nick version will become the new standard; I think most media will continue to portray April and Casey closer to the more "familiar" age range.

[ProactiveMan]

I like the dynamic of a woman in her mid to late 20s putting up with a bunch of teenage shenanigans, but the younger Nick April is good too.

They probably shouldn't go any younger unless they spin off a Turtle Babies show.

[Slade]

Really, I don't care one way or the other. I don't need April or Casey really.

[Huzzah]

I'm pretty much over April, no one seems to have anything interesting to do with her. I can't stand her in the Nick cartoon, probably my least favorite version. Though that's mostly due to them just trying to force her into every episode. She honestly should just be busted down to about half the episodes a season.

Honestly though, I have no issues with her being younger. I like the IDW age bracket, and honestly if they had made her interesting in the Nick show, I'm perfectly fine with her being around the age of the Turtles.

As far as Casey goes, first off I'm not a Casey/April fan in any iteration, but I honestly prefer him as a young adult. I don't like teen or college Casey. I find him more interesting as an older character, allowing a cool dynamic between him and Raphael, I mean there is nothing wrong with having a friendship between generations. Plus I think it would be great to see him as a single parent, raising a child (Shadow, who kind of thinks of the Turtles as that cool relative, who is an uncle but still young enough to be a friend), who can't win for losing.

[neatoman]

Well it keeps April from being potrayed as a reporter, so I'm all for it.

All kidding aside, I understand the logic that it's weird for adults to hang out with teenagers and I don't think it takes away much from them as characters. Maybe we won't see stuff like Shadow make it into narrative but let's face it, Shadow ain't showing up in anything other than the Mirage stories.

[PurpleMusic]

I think April's best as being mid-20s. Kids can still kind of relate, and it makes her more independent and mobile as a character. Casey can go anywhere from around 30 and up for me and still work. I hate shows with too many young characters, especially these days. Teen culture is pretty much at its lowest point in history right now.

[Bossa Nova]

In my mind, IDW Casey and April are very similar in age to 4Kids' Casey and April, in that early 20's bracket. People can still be in college at that age and many certainly do still live with their parents. In 4Kids they were a bit more independent, but it still felt about the same. Personally, that's the perfect age group for them to me. I definitely like them being older than the turtles because I never saw their relationship as "Omg best friends forever!!" but more of them filling a much needed mother and cool uncle sort of role. They're young enough to hang out and confide in, but still old enough to have their own lives (though I think it's weird that people seem to feel that adults and teens can't have friendships. I'm 25 and a lot of my fellow students who go to my studio are in their teens, 15-18. They're super easy to hang out with, don't make me feel awkward and the only time I really feel that difference is when they start talking about college and first jobs and I want to give them some advice). Making April and Casey the turtle's true peers strips them of an important element to me. They're lacking in a degree of maturity and experience that I feel they very much need in order to fulfill their roles.

[Prowler]

I prefer them to be in their early-mid 20s. Casey and especially April are supposed to be like older "relatives" to the Turtles. I kinda view April as some kind of voice of reason. Also, the Turtles being kids already, you're gonna make Casey and April kids as well? I mean sure, with the turtles being younger in the Nick version it makes sense for them to have kids of their age, and I guess it's best to simply make Casey and April younger than creating a completely new character or two as a friend for the Turtles. But on the other hand, Splinter will remain the only adult in the Turtles' lives, which seems kinda unrealistic.

[ABrown]

I think having April and Casey younger in the Nickelodeon series really works for what they're doing in that show. Portraying the characters as a little younger is one of the few things that I really like about the show.

[DevilSpooky]

April works best as a kind of Mother figure for the boys, I love the comic where Raph cries on her lap because he never knew his real mother and realized she was their surrogate mother.

Casey is more realistic as an adult, in order to be able to handle ninjas, mutants and aliens without proper training he needs to at least be experienced, I don't see a kid doing anything other then being killed in those conditions.

That being said IDW April is probably my favorite version of her, Nick being the least favorite. Casey I only really liked the Mirage one, every other one is meh at best, can't stand the Nick one though, especially his stupid face...

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I prefer April and Casey as big sister and big brother, not peers. And I can't stand Donny/April over on Nick.

IDW has hit it out of the park with their April, but before that, my favorite was 2003's portrayal.

[Huzzah]

My biggest issue with Nick's Casey Jones is that he often quotes Elias Koteas as Casey Jones, and he teenage Casey Jones lacks the gravitas to deliver them properly.

Honestly the Elias Koteas as Casey is the definitive version of Casey. No other version has even come close, and I think one of the best reasons for that is that he is the appropriate age to play a convincing Casey Jones. He's an age that makes it far more believable that he could be a vigilante. High school and college versions don't cut it though.

[PangolinFeets]

I never thought much of April and Casey outside of some of the Mirage issues, but I love their portrayal in IDW. I feel like they've done a good job of establishing April and have plenty of room to let her grow and get more interesting. And I prefer the less-homicidal IDW Jones (although I could stand to see him step it up and kicking a bit more ass).

I'm not as big of a fan of their Nick versions. Not because they are young, but because I'm just not a fan of how they're written.

I can't wait for the IDW Casey/April spin off. I feel like wonderful things are going to happen in it.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by PangolinFeets

I can't wait for the IDW Casey/April spin off. I feel like wonderful things are going to happen in it.

I second that!

[Sage Ninja]

I really do not care for it. I think it dumbs down the property a bit too much. Why is it many cartoons from the 80's and 90's and even early 2000's had protagonists that were depicted as adults and kids were fine with it, and now it seems like shows have to have a protagonist tat is a kid like them? Jem and the Holograms, The Real Ghostbusters, Conan the Adventurer, Pirates of Dark Water, Batman the animated series, X-Men, ect, ect, all had adult protagonists. I always hated when they had shows and they had to add in a child character for some reason so kids could identify with them. Hated most of those brats...

[Luckyday]

In my opinion, you could have an adult surrounding by teenager if you have a clear understanding of what the relationship is.

With Casey, you can write him off as a childhood friend. He was around thirteen when he met them and they (the turtles) were eight or maybe eleven years old. Now flash forward to present day. Turtles are teenagers and Casey is in his early twenties. His years with the turtles had made him into the lovable eccentric crazy vigilante that he is today which essentially stuck in arrested development.

That would actually explain his character so much.

With April, it would be a reluctant team up. "Why do I keep seeing you four assholes?". Playing the role as the straight man and commenting ridiculous nature of their adventure with a heavy note of sarcasm and lamp shading along the way.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Sage Ninja

I really do not care for it. I think it dumbs down the property a bit too much. Why is it many cartoons from the 80's and 90's and even early 2000's had protagonists that were depicted as adults and kids were fine with it, and now it seems like shows have to have a protagonist tat is a kid like them? Jem and the Holograms, The Real Ghostbusters, Conan the Adventurer, Pirates of Dark Water, Batman the animated series, X-Men, ect, ect, all had adult protagonists. I always hated when they had shows and they had to add in a child character for some reason so kids could identify with them. Hated most of those brats...

You and me both, Sage...